THE parents of a miracle girl who survived plunging down a flooded drain and being swept underground have said they believe the family’s pet dog saved her life.

Leona Baxter, three, was playing in puddles at Riverside Park, Chester-le-Street, with her six-year-old sister Kiah when she was swallowed 230ft underground and submerged in flood water before being spat out into the River Wear.

Hearing her screams, her panic-stricken dad Mark, 34, from North Yorkshire, ran to the drain, which had lost its cover due to high water pressure and plunged his hand in, desperately trying to find his daughter.

Mr Baxter and his wife Beverley, 32, then ran to the river where he described seeing his daughter’s floating blue mackintosh coat.

Mr Baxter, who works at RAF Leeming, said: “I don’t remember jumping in the river but my wife says I did.

“I saw Leona’s coat and thought it had come off her. Then I saw it was her and she was lying face down.

“I picked her up and put her on my shoulders. The water was up to just below my shoulders so I had to put her there.

“I couldn’t move then because my wellies were full of water. My wife shouted to passers-by and I passed Leona to them.

“She was unconscious at that point but then she began to cough and splutter.”

The family had been visiting grandparents in Consett and had stopped on their way home to let their dog, Brothy, out for a walk.

When little Leona fell into the half-metre wide drain, Brothy fell too and Mr Baxter believes that is what saved his daughter’s life.

Mr Baxter, who has a phobia of confined spaces and fears drowning, said: “I’m sure Leona had become snagged on something underground.

“Brothy is a big dog and I’m sure it was his weight knocking in to her that freed her.”